Agriculture: Molluscicides

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have received about problems arising from molluscicide usage and how such problems may be resolved.

Lord De Mauley: The Government receive information on the impact of molluscicide use from monitoring activities. Advice on the implications of monitoring is received from a number of sources, including the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Pesticides Forum.
	There are two main issues. Careless misuse or deliberate abuse of molluscicides may lead to poisoning of wildlife or pets. Also residues of these products are some of the most frequently detected pesticides in raw waters and although this does not have implications for human health or the environment, it may be an issue for water companies in meeting the requirements of the drinking water directive.
	The Government are working with a range of stakeholders to raise awareness of these issues and promote best practice among those who store and use molluscicide products. Enforcement action is taken against those who misuse or abuse products.

Armed Forces: Future Commitments

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the agreement of both Houses of Parliament will be sought before United Kingdom armed forces are committed to any future war.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Since United Kingdom military intervention in Iraq in 2003, a convention has developed in the House of Commons that before troops are committed, the House of Commons should have an opportunity to debate the matter. The Government propose to observe that convention except when there is an emergency and such action would not be appropriate.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 8 November (WA 220), when they expect Sir John Holmes to come forward with his further recommendations about the policy of acceptance of medals from another country.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Sir John Holmes GCVO KBE CMG has made good progress on the further work he was invited to undertake to implement the recommendations set out in his Military Medals Review, published on 17 July 2012. This involves a number of stages, including a fresh look at the policy on the acceptance of medals from other countries.
	The first phase of the further work has now been completed, covering a number of campaign medals, and has been submitted for consideration.

Bahrain

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the criticism by the United States State Department of the ban on public demonstrations in Bahrain.

Baroness Warsi: The US, like the UK, was deeply concerned by the Bahraini Government's decision to ban all public demonstrations.
	The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), issued a statement on 30 October conveying our belief that a blanket ban is an excessive measure. We have since learnt that this will be a temporary measure but continue to urge the Government of Bahrain to uphold their international commitments and ensure that their citizens are able to exercise their fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

Bahrain

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the Government of Saudi Arabia regarding Saudi Arabian forces in Bahrain; and, if so, what assessment they have made of the effect of those representations on the presence of Saudi forces in that country.

Baroness Warsi: We believe that there are a small number of Gulf Co-operation troops currently stationed in Bahrain to safeguard Gulf Co-operation Council base facilities. We have not made representations to the Government of Saudi Arabia on this issue.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 24 October (WA 62), what criteria are used by the Financial Services Authority and HM Treasury in making determinations about announcements of changes in setting capital and liquidity policy for regulated banks; and how they ensure that markets are correctly informed of such changes.

Lord Sassoon: I refer to the Answer provided to the previous Question (HL2483) on 24 October 2012. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and HM Treasury determine whether any changes in setting capital and liquidity policy for regulated banks are announced formally or not on a case by case basis, taking into account the relevant circumstances in each case.
	For example, on 27 September the FSA formally announced adjustments to its liquidity and capital regime for UK banks and building societies: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/communication/statements/2012/fpc.shtml).

BBC: Licence Fee

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 30 October (WA 113), whether they will take into account the proportion of the fee recently spent on meeting liabilities in the BBC Pension Scheme and its consequences for programme-making in making decisions on the future level of the BBC licence fee; and what is their assessment of the August 2012 valuation of the scheme's deficit of £2.6 billion.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The level of licence fee is set until 2017. The Government have no plans to review the level of the licence fee before then. The Government have made no assessment of the valuation of the BBC's pension scheme deficit, or an assessment about any consequences for programme-making. The BBC's pension arrangements and how it spends the licence fee are matters for the BBC, which is editorially and operationally independent of Government.

Benefits

The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households in (1) the United Kingdom, and (2) each region within the United Kingdom, receive help with their childcare costs through (a) tax credits only, and (b) both tax credits and housing benefit.

Lord Sassoon: As at 1 April 2012, there were 454,900 households in the United Kingdom benefiting from the childcare element of tax credits. The table below shows the regional breakdown of number of households benefiting from the childcare element through tax credits.
	
		
			 Region Number of households benefiting from the childcare element of tax credits ('000s) 
			 England  
			 North East 19.1 
			 North West 70.1 
			 Yorks and The Humber 42.7 
			 East Midlands 35.8 
			 West Midlands 44.4 
			 East 32.2 
			 London 49.6 
			 South East 47.2 
			 South West 35.7 
			  376.8 
			 Wales 21.2 
			 Scotland 40.6 
			 Northern Ireland 15.6 
			 Foreign and not known 0.7 
			 United Kingdom 454.9 
		
	
	Administrative data on the number of households receiving help with their childcare costs through tax credits and housing benefit are not available.

Children: International Law and Rights

Lord Stone of Blackheath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 10 October (WA 419), what further reports they are preparing on children's rights and international law.

Baroness Warsi: We are not currently preparing any further reports on children's rights and international law.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) works to protect the rights of children affected by conflict. For example, the FCO contributed £15,000 towards the costs of a Conference on Children in Armed Conflict, which was held at Wilton Park in March. The aim of the conference was to create better understanding and knowledge of the evolving response to children's care and protection during and following armed conflict, explore innovative strategies for enhancing the protection of children impacted by armed conflict and generate greater momentum for work in this area.

Children: International Law and Rights

Lord Stone of Blackheath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 10 October (WA 419), what proportion of the cost of the report was met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; which organisations paid for the remainder; and how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office selects organisations to co-fund its reports.

Baroness Warsi: The funding for the report Children in Military Custody was provided entirely by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). This money came from the FCO's Human Rights and Democracy Fund 2011-12.

China

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of China about the house arrest of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin; and what representations they have made to the Government of China about the freedom of religious communities, and in particular the Roman Catholic Church, to choose their own leaders.

Baroness Warsi: We are aware of reports that the newly appointed Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai, Ma Daqin, disappeared on 7 July and that he is currently in a seminary in Shanghai.
	We strongly support freedom of religion for all, including in China. The prohibition of some religious groups, and the legal restrictions and harassment aimed at others, undermines freedom of religious belief in China. We do regularly raise this with the Chinese Government, and did so during the UK-China human rights dialogue in January this year. We will continue to raise this issue at appropriate times, including at future human rights dialogues.

China

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of China about the recent blocking of the Vatican website for residents of China.

Baroness Warsi: We are not aware of access issues in China relating specifically to the Vatican website. We have not made any representations to the Chinese Government regarding this issue.
	We raise our concerns, more widely, about freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression, including internet freedoms, with the Chinese Government regularly. We did so most recently at the UK-China human rights dialogue in January this year.

Claims Management Companies

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Information Commissioner in relation to claims companies which persistently breach guidelines regarding cold calling about payment protection insurance and other no win no fee claims.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is independent from Government and therefore an assessment of this nature has not been undertaken. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003, the ICO has responsibility for considering complaints about cold calling relating to Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered consumers. The ICO can take formal action against those who have breached the PECR and issue civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000 for the most serious breaches. The ICO works closely with the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Claims Management Regulator (CMR), which regulates financial companies, to identify those responsible for many such calls. Also, the ICO has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the CMR, to facilitate the sharing of information about breaches of the PECR by claims management companies.
	Additionally, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, met with the ICO, OFCOM and TPS to press for further action in this area. As a result measures have recently been introduced that will help to provide more effective protection for consumers. This includes the ICO's intention to publish on its website a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to TPS registered consumers. If the companies fail to remedy their actions, then they could face further enforcement action. Also, to improve access to information for complaints, Ofcom set up new website pages on 1 October (http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy) that provide clearer advice on nuisance calls, texts and e-mails. Also, Ofcom published a new consumer guide that provides clearer information and signposts the correct place to make a complaint (http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/10/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages).

Council Tax

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reviewed the case for, or made plans for, the introduction of a higher valuation band for the purpose of charging council tax; and whether this would require new valuations to be carried out.

Baroness Hanham: No. We have no plans to introduce new council tax bands. We have ruled out a revaluation in this Parliament.
	As I stated on 26 June 2012 (Official Report, col. WA 46) and on 24 July 2012 (Official Report, col. GC 263) council tax re-banding would require a council tax revaluation.
	The 2005 council tax revaluation and re-banding in Wales saw four times as many homes move up one or more bands as move down. The biggest increase in the tax burden fell on homes originally in bands A to C.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo about the recent gun attack on Dr Denis Mukege; and whether they will make representations to President Kabila to ensure that the case is appropriately investigated, that those responsible are brought to justice, and that Dr Mukege and his family are offered appropriate protection.

Baroness Warsi: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) issued a statement on 28 October which said:
	"I was deeply dismayed to hear about the attack on Dr Denis Mukwege on 25 October. Dr Mukwege works tirelessly in very difficult conditions to give hope to women who have suffered the most appalling crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I had the honour of meeting Dr Mukwege during the UN General Assembly when we shared a platform to talk about the issue of sexual violence in conflict. He is a remarkable man. I was relieved to hear that Dr Mukwege and his family are safe but saddened that his guard was murdered during the attack. I urge the Government of the DRC to investigate the attack promptly to bring to justice those responsible".
	On behalf of EU member states, the EU Head of Delegation raised the incident with Foreign Minister Tshibanda on Friday 2 November, urging the Congolese authorities to investigate the attack thoroughly. The EU Humanitarian Office (ECHO) provided safe passage in the aftermath of the attack for Dr Mukwege and his family to Bujumbura, Burundi. The family have since travelled to Europe with support from the Belgian Government. Our embassy in DRC will continue to follow the incident closely and monitor progress on finding those responsible for the attack.

Disabled People: Independent Living

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people in each of the constituencies in Greater Manchester have received a payment from the Independent Living Fund in each of the past ten years.

Lord Freud: Information for Independent Living Fund Users is not collected at the constituency level. The below table presents the number of users in each local authority within the Greater Manchester Area.
	
		
			 Financial Year 4/12-9/12 4/11-3/12 4/10-3/11 4/09-3/10 4/08-3/09 4/07-3/08 4/06-3/07 4/05-3/06 4/04-3/05 4/03-3/04 4/02-3/03 
			 Bolton Social Services 76 82 86 97 104 106 99 93 80 74 65 
			 Bury
			 Social Services 36 44 45 48 42 29 16 17 16 16 13 
			 Manchester Social Services 198 212 226 233 232 220 204 188 167 146 136 
			 Oldham Social Services 194 202 220 248 254 194 125 78 44 33 30 
			 Rochdale Social Services 42 45 50 57 56 58 55 52 42 37 33 
			 Salford Social Services 76 81 87 92 91 89 82 71 59 55 47 
			 Stockport Social Services 88 96 104 106 111 109 99 89 77 62 53 
			 Tameside Social Services 66 68 71 71 72 64 61 54 49 44 38 
			 Trafford Social Services 28 29 32 40 43 39 39 33 31 29 24 
			 Wigan Social Services 109 111 115 121 119 124 115 97 76 71 68 
			 Grand Total 913 970 1036 1113 1124 1032 895 772 641 567 507

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 5 November (WA 168), when the journal article detailing progress with somatic cell nuclear transfer was first submitted for publication; to which open-access journals it has already been submitted; and to what extent they consider that data presented at the workshop convened by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the Medical Research Council in June 2010 has been publicly reported given that the chief communications officer for CIRM has stated that its scientific workshops are by invitation only, and invited participants were assured that unpublished information need not be made public.

Lord Marland: The report of the MRC and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) workshop on human somatic cell nuclear transfer was published on the websites of both organisations in November and December 2010. The aim of the workshop was examine human somatic cell nuclear transfer and its role in stem cell research and to summarise the state of the global research effort in this area.
	The publication of the report on the CIRM website was accompanied by a letter from Dr Alan Trounson describing the workshop where researchers in the field were invited to discuss the progress and how these discussions would inform CIRM funding decisions.
	The publication of the MRC-CIRM workshop report was followed by a discussion paper Finding the niche for human somatic cell nucleartransfer: Grieshammer et al 2011, Nature Biotech: 29, August 2011. The paper was authored by CIRM staff and was submitted to Nature Biotechnology in March 2011, it has not subsequently been submitted to any open access journal.
	The 2010 workshop was open to invited researchers to allow their ongoing research, including preliminary findings and intellectual property, to be freely discussed. A draft of the MRC-CIRM report was made available to workshop participants prior to publication and they were given the opportunity to comment on how their research was presented.

Employee Ownership

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government for what reasons they have put in place a three-week deadline for responses to the consultation on Implementing Employee Owner Status issued on 18 October.

Lord Marland: Cabinet Office guidelines on consultation have been revised to give departments more scope to decide what is appropriate in terms of consultation for any given topic. While we recognise that it is a short consultation, the detail is subject to parliamentary scrutiny, which is a key form of consultation.
	We have received nearly 400 responses to the consultation we ran from 18 October to 8 November which have been submitted from a wide range of stakeholders. We have also conducted an intensive programme of meeting with employee representative groups and business groups to discuss the issues face to face.

Energy: Wind Farms

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action are they taking to promote (1) onshore, and (2) offshore wind farms.

Baroness Verma: The Government support onshore and offshore wind through the renewables obligation (RO)-the main mechanism for supporting renewable electricity generation in the UK. Support under the RO is set at a level to bring forward investment, while minimising the impact on consumer bills. The following table lists the current level of support for each form of the technology and the support levels that will come into force on 1 April 2013 for new accreditations, following a comprehensive review, subject to parliamentary and state aid approval:
	
		
			 Year Onshore wind (ROCs per MWh) Offshore wind (ROCs per MWh) 
			 2012-13 1 2 
			 2013-14 0.9 2 
			 2014-15 0.9 2 
			 2015-16 0.9 1.9 
			 2016-17 0.9 1.8 
		
	
	The RO will close to new generation from 31 March 2017, after which new renewable electricity generation will be supported by feed-in tariffs with contracts for difference, as announced in the July 2011 electricity market reform White Paper.
	The Government are also taking action to tackle barriers to deployment and support the supply chain, as set out in the renewable energy road map. This is available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/renewable-energy/2167-uk-renewable-energy-roadmap.pdf.

EU: Habitats and Birds Directives

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions have been reached by the review of the implementation of the European Union Habitats and Birds Directives in the United Kingdom, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 November 2011 (Official Report, col. 807-8).

Lord De Mauley: The report of the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives Implementation Review is available on the Defra website under "publications".
	It was clear from the wide range of evidence and views submitted in the course of the review of the EU habitats and wild birds directives that in the large majority of cases the implementation of the directives is working well, allowing both development of key infrastructure and ensuring that a high level of environmental protection is maintained.

EU: Habitats and Birds Directives

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Natural England have compared their implementation of the European Union Habitats and Birds Directives in the United Kingdom with that in other European Union member states, with a view to assessing consistency amongst member states in the interpretation of the directives.

Lord De Mauley: In the UK implementation of the EU habitats and birds directives is devolved to country level. Natural England implements these directives in England and has no role at UK level. Natural England has not undertaken a formal comparison with other member states, although it does participate in working groups which provide opportunities to share best practice and consider large scale pan-European issues.
	Natural England has recently commenced a two year project focused on improving England's Natural 2000 site network, which is a primary mechanism by which the directives are implemented. This project is partially funded from European sources and will involve liaison with other member states to compare and develop approaches to achieving the environmental objectives set out in the directives.

EU: Habitats and Birds Directives

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Natural England have carried out an impact assessment of the costs incurred in the protection of bats under the European Union Habitats and Birds Directives; and, if not, why not.

Lord De Mauley: No impact assessments were required when the habitats directive was transposed into domestic legislation in 1994, and although the habitats directive and transposing regulations have been subsequently amended the protection they require for bats has not altered. As a consequence no impact assessment has subsequently been undertaken. The birds directive does not contain any requirements specific to the protection of bats.

EU: Waste Water Management

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the implications of the decision of the European Court of Justice C-301/10, on the failure of a member state to fulfil obligations under the Urban Waste Water Directive 91/271/EEC, on the plan to construct the Thames Tidal tunnel.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to comply with paragraph 67 of the decision of the European Court of Justice C-301/10, on the failure of a member state to fulfil obligations under the Urban Waste Water Directive 91/271/EEC, in respect of the need to examine best technical knowledge not entailing excessive costs.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the decision of the European Court of Justice C-301/10, on the failure of a member state to fulfil obligations under the Urban Waste Water Directive 91/271/EEC, how much they have budgeted for to meet any fine by the European Commission.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the decision of the European Court of Justice C-301/10, on the failure of a member state to fulfil obligations under the Urban Waste Water Directive 91/271/EEC, whether, in order to inform any response to the European Commission, they will instruct the Environment Agency to facilitate running of its Thames Tideway model, using the most up to date modelling technologies and using inputs from a range of alternative solutions, in compliance with the Decision paragraphs 67 to 73.

Lord De Mauley: The Court of Justice of the European Union published its judgment on 18 October, declaring that the UK was in breach of the urban waste water treatment directive for failing to ensure appropriate collection and treatment of urban waste water in London and Whitburn.
	If the Court of Justice of the European Union finds that a member state has failed to fulfil an obligation under the treaties, the state is required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the Court. Consequently the UK needs to take measures to address the failure to collect and treat urban waste water in London. The Court accepted that the Thames tideway tunnel represents a solution to the problem of the collecting system in London and the implication therefore is that the tunnel represents a means to come into compliance with the judgment.
	If the Commission considers that the UK has not taken the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the Court, it may bring the case before the Court after giving that state the opportunity to submit its observations. The decision to take forward the case will depend on the Commission's assessment of the steps the UK is taking to come into compliance. We note in this context that, as stated in the advocate general's opinion, the Commission has taken the view that the Thames tunnel represents a means to bring the UK into compliance. In Defra's accounts the possibility of fines is recognised as a contingent liability and will remain as such unless and until the Commission applies to the Court for fines.
	The Court stated that the concept of best technical knowledge not entailing excessive cost enables compliance with the obligations of the directive to be secured without imposing unachievable obligations which member states might only be able to fulfil at disproportionate cost or not at all. However, the principle that all waste water must be collected and treated in normal circumstances must not be undermined by member states' invoking disproportionate costs other than by way of exception.
	For London, we re-examined the costs and benefits of the tunnel resulting in a revised cost benefit analysis published in November 201 which demonstrated that the costs of the tunnel were not disproportionate since it would secure around £3 billion to £5 billion of economic benefits, with additional unquantified regeneration and employment benefits. We acknowledged that there are uncertainties associated with this type of cost benefit analysis, which is why the benefits are presented as a wide range. We are not aware of any new information that significantly changes that analysis, and the tunnel remains the most cost effective solution to address the lack of capacity of the London sewerage system to accommodate even light rainfall. With respect to disproportionate costs, we do not envisage circumstances where a failure to address this lack of capacity for a large urban conglomeration such as London could be viewed as justified as an exception on these grounds. It would undermine the principle of the directive.
	We do not intend to instruct the Environment Agency to re-examine its advice on the environmental benefits of the tunnel which has been the subject of scrutiny for a decade. We will of course continue to work closely with Ofwat and Thames Water to ensure costs that are passed on to customers and taxpayers represent value for money.

Firearms: Licensing

Lord Dear: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 22 October (WA 37-8), whether they will give a more precise estimate of when the Home Office Guidance to Police on Firearms Law will be published.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government will be publishing the chapters of the revised guidance in batches. The Government have been consulting with interested parties and are carefully considering their comments on the first set of revised chapters, which will be published within two to three months.

Government Departments: Coalition Agreement

Lord Ryder of Wensum: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has made since May 2010 in respect of commitments relevant to it in the coalition agreement.

Lord Marland: The Department for Business (BIS) Business Plan's Structural Reform Plan (SRP) sets out in detail the department's programme of work to deliver its commitments in the coalition agreement. BIS completed all the 155 actions from the BIS 2011 SRP, published in May 2011, that it was due to deliver at the end of 2011-2012. BIS has completed a further 22 actions to date from the BIS 2012 SRP, published in May 2012, out of a total of 111 actions with different completion dates running until 2015. The BIS 2012 SRP shows the department's coalition priorities based around five themes: knowledge and innovation; skills; enterprise; trade and investment; and markets.

Government Departments: Coalition Agreement

Lord Ryder of Wensum: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress the Cabinet Office has made since May 2010 in respect of commitments relevant to it in the coalition agreement.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Cabinet Office continues to make good progress against the commitments relevant to it in the coalition agreement. The department reports progress on a monthly basis on the Number 10 website (http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business- plan/1).

Government Departments: Coalition Agreement

Lord Ryder of Wensum: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress the Department for Transport has made since May 2010 in respect of commitments relevant to it in the coalition agreement.

Earl Attlee: Structural reform plans detail the concrete steps this Government are taking to implement their agenda. Since May 2010 the Department for Transport has achieved 69 actions in line with implementing the priorities of the coalition agreement.
	The department's plan updates can be viewed on the No 10 Transparency website: http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan/11.
	Additionally, the structural reform plan forms part of each department's business plan and the transparency website tracks the Government's progress in implementing the reforms the structural reform plan sets out.
	The Department for Transport's business plans can be viewed at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-business-plan/.

Government Departments: Coalition Agreement

Lord Ryder of Wensum: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress the Ministry of Justice has made since May 2010 in respect of commitments relevant to it in the coalition agreement.

Lord McNally: The Ministry of Justice is fully engaged in delivering the commitments outlined in the coalition programme for government, and has made significant progress against these since May 2010.
	With one exception, all of the department's commitments have now been completed, or are on track to be delivered.
	The commitment on extending anonymity in rape cases to defendants is not being taken forward. A research assessment, published on the Ministry of Justice website, found insufficient reliable empirical evidence on which to base an informed decision on the value of providing anonymity. Evidence was lacking in a number of key areas. In the absence of such evidence, the proposal was not proceeded with further. A Written Ministerial Statement to this effect was made on 12 November 2010 (Official Report, col. 25WS).
	The Ministry of Justice's progress to deliver the key elements of its reform agenda is available online. The Number 10 website publishes monthly updates on the delivery of the actions listed in all departments' 2012-15 business plans, including many of the commitments set out in the coalition programme for government. The website address is: http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan/14.

Government Departments: Expenditure

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 12 November (WA 249-50), how the calculation that the cost was disproportionate was made.

Lord De Mauley: Core Defra has a contract with Interserve Facilities Management to provide services, including fire prevention and security services, among a wide range of other services as part of an aggregate, unitary fee. The level of detail of reporting required in that contract does not cover the information requested relating to a historical breakdown of expenditure in each of the past five years.
	Estimates of the amount of resource that would be needed to go back over previous years and collect information that had not been collected at the time indicate that it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what surveys of staff employed by the Department for Communities and Local Government are conducted; at what cost; at what time of year; and whether they will place in the Library of the House the results of each such survey held in each of the past five years.

Baroness Hanham: From 2009 the department has been part of the Civil Service annual People Survey which takes place each autumn. The department's cost for the 2012 People Survey will be £25,500 which includes the costs for our executive agencies taking part.
	The results of the past five surveys can be found on:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121108165934/http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/about/howwework/corporatereports/reportsaccounts/staffsurvey/
	and copies will be placed in the Library of the House.
	This year the department has also undertaken a short "pulse" survey which we are still analysing.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what surveys of staff employed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are conducted; at what cost; at what time of year; and whether they will place in the Library of the House the results of each such survey held in each of the past five years.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS) has participated in the Cabinet Office-run Civil Service People Survey annually since the survey's inception in 2009. The survey takes place in October and the cost, which is based on departmental headcount, is £5,900 per annum.
	The Civil Service People Survey is a crucial way for DCMS to gather valuable feedback from its people, in order to remain a responsive organisation, constantly seeking to improve the way that it works. Furthermore, the people survey is the only standardised engagement assessment across the Civil Service, and therefore acts as an important way of measuring employee attitudes on a consistent range of issues, enabling central government to benchmark results across participating organisations.
	DCMS also runs ad hoc surveys on specific issues, for example on its change programme, or forthcoming move to 100 Parliament Street. These surveys are run at no monetary cost, but results are not collated centrally. Therefore, we cannot answer the present question with the level of detail requested.

Government Departments: Travel

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent by (1) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and (2) each of its agencies, on (a) inland, and (b) overseas, travel in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

Lord De Mauley: The amounts spent by core Defra and its executive agencies on UK and overseas travel for the years in question are set out below:
	
		
			 UK Travel 
			 Financial Year Core Defra £(000) CEFAS £(000) CSL £(000) FERA £(000) RPA £(000) AH £(000) VLA £(000) AHVLA £(000) VMD £(000) 
			 2007-08 4,256 270 392  5,051 6,129 600  85 
			 2008-09 3,938 398  1,152 5,842 2,897 621  104 
			 2009-10 3,202 442  916 5,302   4,520 125 
			 2010-11 1,940 341  942 2,915   3,594 105 
			 2011-12 1,815 328  977 2,666   3,353 113 
		
	
	
		
			 Overseas travel 
			 Financial Year Core Defra £(000) CEFAS £(000) CSL £(000) FERA £(000) RPA £(000) AH £(000) VLA £(000) AHVLA £(000) VMD £(000) 
			 2007-08 830 160 219  66 40 369  88 
			 2008-09 416 160  239 69 44 381  97 
			 2009-10 425 150  255 7   386 115 
			 2010-11 399 225  234 48   324 41 
			 2011-12 562 221  257 22   236 47 
		
	
	AHVLA-Animal Health (AH) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) were merged on 1 April 2011 to form the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency
	CEFAS-Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
	CSL-Central Science Laboratory (became part of FERA on 1 April 2009)
	FERA-Food and Environment Research Agency-this data may include some subsistence costs, it would be of disproportionate cost to extract that information.
	RPA-Rural Payments Agency
	VMD-Veterinary Medicines Directorate
	GDS, MFA-It would be of disproportionate cost to collect this information for these agencies. The GDS became part of FERA on 1st April 2009. The MFA was incorporated into the MMO 1 April 2010

Houses of Parliament: Security Override

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each Government department, from January to June 2012, (1) on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in the House of Lords was overridden, (2) on how many occasions the scrutiny reserve resolution in the House of Commons was overridden, and (3) in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses or (b) either House.

Baroness Warsi: The Government will always seek to avoid breaching the scrutiny reserve resolutions of either House of Parliament and will continue to account for their actions in writing to the chairmen of the scrutiny committees in each House when this happens.
	During this period the Government submitted 482 Explanatory Memorandums (EMs) on proposals and other documents for scrutiny, and each EM can potentially result in overrides in either House. Between January and June 2012, there were 57 occasions when measures were adopted before scrutiny could be completed in either House. Recesses are a constant factor when Parliament's weekly scrutiny processes are interrupted with 18 of the overrides occurring at times when the scrutiny committees were not meeting.
	Thirty-two of the total number of overrides involved fast-moving sanctions and restrictive measures proposals on which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office lead, and where delaying agreement would have undermined their effectiveness.
	The figures requested are set out in the table below:
	
		
			 Department HoL override HoC override Overrides in both Houses Total 
			 BIS 2 3 0 5 
			 DEFRA 3 3 1 5 
			 DWP 0 2 0 2 
			 FCO 33 35 33 35 
			 HMT 5 5 3 7 
			 HO 2 1 1 2 
			 MOD 1 1 1 1 
			 TOTALS 46 50 39 57 
		
	
	The Ministry of Defence item was an override from November 2011 which was omitted in error from the report for July-December 2011 (HL687).

Iran

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have received on recent mass executions in Iran; how many executions they estimate to have occurred in Iran during 2011; and when they last raised the use of capital punishment in Iran at the General Assembly of the United Nations, in the Security Council, or with other European Union member states.

Baroness Warsi: We have recently received a report of preparations for a mass execution in Gohardasht prison, but have no further information. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates there were at least 650 executions in Iran last year. We have grave concerns about Iran's use of the death penalty and regularly condemn it.
	The UK strongly supports the UN General Assembly's annual resolution on human rights in Iran, as well as the work of the UN special rapporteur, Dr Ahmed Shaheed. We raised our concerns about the use of the death penalty during Dr Shaheed's presentation of his report to the General Assembly on 24 October. We are also working with our partners in the EU to address Iran's appalling use of the death penalty. The EU last discussed this issue in October.

Israel

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel about implementing the recommendations of (a) the Or Commission of 2003 about Arab citizens, and (b) the Goldberg Commission of 2008 about Bedouin villages.

Baroness Warsi: We continue to urge the Israeli Government to implement the recommendations made by the 2003 Or Commission.
	We remain concerned that the recommendations of the Goldberg Commission, which included a recommendation to recognise most of the remaining unrecognised Bedouin villages, have not led to an end to the demolition of Bedouin houses and villages. Our embassy in Tel Aviv is in regular contact with Bedouin leaders and activists and our ambassador has discussed the issue with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Minister Begin on many occasions.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether United Kingdom diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem purchase settlement goods.

Baroness Warsi: I refer the noble Baroness to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) on 11 June (Official Report, col. 230-31W).

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Government of Israel about the recommendation in the recent report Children in Military Custody that all interrogations be audio-visually recorded.

Baroness Warsi: Our ambassador to Tel Aviv has discussed the report and recommendations with the Israeli Attorney-General and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we are continuing this dialogue. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), has also written to the Israeli ambassador to London on this subject.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their representations to the Government of Israel concerning letters to and family visits for Palestinian detainees held in Israel or west of the separation barrier have led to improvements; and, if so, whether they will provide details of those improvements.

Baroness Warsi: Our officials in Tel Aviv have raised the issue of family visits for Palestinian prisoners with the Israeli authorities, and following the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike, family visits have been reinstated.
	We continue to press the Israeli authorities to treat prisoners held by them in accordance with international and Israeli law.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the outcome of their requests of the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to eliminate the use of torture and harmful and degrading treatment of persons in custody.

Baroness Warsi: Our officials in Tel Aviv have raised our concerns with the Israeli authorities about the broader questions of the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. We continue to press the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law, including in their own policies on detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
	We are in regular touch with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is monitoring the situation closely. It has not raised any accusations of torture.
	Our consul general to Jerusalem met the new Palestinian Minister of Justice on 2 July and reaffirmed the need for all allegations of torture and mistreatment to be thoroughly investigated.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report Trading Away Peace, whether they will impose import restrictions on goods and services from Israel's settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Baroness Warsi: We will be reviewing the recommendations made in the report Trading Away Peace published on 30 October concerning the European Union's trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
	The issue of settlement produce is a subject of active discussion with our EU partners. We continue to work to take forward the commitment made by EU Foreign Ministers at the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 14 May to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. This includes working to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and that settlement products are not incorrectly labelled as Israeli produce, in violation of EU consumer protection regulations.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with the Government of Israel the destruction of olive trees, pollution of water supplies and unannounced closures of agricultural roads by settlers and military personnel in the Salfit Governorate of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Baroness Warsi: Our ambassador to Israel raised the issue of settler violence during the olive harvest with the Israeli negotiator on the Middle East peace process, Isaac Molho, on 13 November. We note the particular sensitivities around olive trees given their status as a national symbol and the sole source of income for many Palestinian farmers. Our officials in Israel have discussed water issues in Salfit with the relevant Israeli authorities in some depth.
	Our ambassador and consul-general most recently raised concerns over movement and access restrictions with the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories in October, but they did not raise Salfit governorate specifically.

Living Wage

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make the payment of the living wage to employees a condition of government contracts to private businesses.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. We want more government contracts to go to SMEs and have introduced a range of reforms to cut red tape, open up access to all types of suppliers and to focus on outcomes.
	Creating a blanket requirement that all contractors to government must pay a living wage could be burdensome for business. And such a practice was not adopted by previous Governments. We will, however, encourage contractors to commit to paying the living wage, and of course require all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.

Living Wage

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their forecast of the impact on employment of the substitution of the living wage for the national minimum wage.

Lord Marland: The Government back the idea of the living wage and encourage businesses to take it up.
	We have no plans to require employers to pay the living wage. Requiring businesses to do so would reduce their flexibility and ultimately could be bad for jobs. We have therefore made no assessment of the impact on employment of substituting the living wage for the national minimum wage.

Local Government

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for unitary local government in Surrey.

Baroness Hanham: None. As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State informed the House of Commons on Monday 12 November (Official Report, col. 7-9) we are opposed to any imposition on local authorities of costly reorganisations. Nor are we in the business of imposing boundary changes, whoever might be seeking them, on the councils concerned.

Migrant Workers

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve conditions for migrant workers in states which are not members of the International Labour Organization.

Lord Freud: The UK takes action in the following ways: (1) The UK supports the International Labour Organisation's work promoting employment rights globally, including those of migrant workers. (2) The ILO carries out technical co-operation, research and promotional activities beyond its member countries. (3) The UK is supportive of decent work in the wider United Nations, and through globally-applicable instruments such as the OECD multinational guidelines.

NHS Commissioning Board: Revenue

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the NHS Commissioning Board has given its written agreement to achieve the service requirements set out in the Mandate for the Board for April 2013 to March 2015 within the published revenue budget for 2013-14, and if so, whether they will publish that agreement; and what assurances the Secretary of State for Health has given to the Board with regard to its 2014-15 budget in securing any such agreement.

Earl Howe: The Government have consulted and worked closely with the NHS Commissioning Board (the board) in developing the mandate, but there is no written agreement of this kind. Under Section 13A(2) of the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the board is legally required to seek to achieve the objectives set out in the mandate. It is free to determine how best to achieve the objectives it has been set and how to prioritise its resources.
	Although the board's budget for 2014-15 will be set next year, the Government have committed to real terms growth in overall health spending in 2014-15.

NHS: 111 Telephone Service

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new NHS 111 telephone service on the cost of urgent and emergency care.

Earl Howe: The department is in the process of drafting a full impact assessment, which builds on the December 2009 partial impact assessment (pre-pilot), to assess the costs and benefits of introducing the NHS 111 service.
	The department also commissioned the University of Sheffield to conduct a full independent evaluation of NHS 111 in four pilot areas over the first 12 months of live operation. The final evaluation was published on 26 October 2012.
	A copy of the final evaluation report has been placed in the Library.
	The department continues to publish a monthly NHS 111 Minimum Data Set, an analysis of service usage across the urgent and emergency care system, which gives local commissioners access to data on all live NHS 111 sites.

NHS: Liverpool Care Pathway

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have examined whether the achievement of financial targets has influenced the implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway in a number of hospital trusts; and, if so, whether they will publish their conclusions.

Earl Howe: The department has not set any financial targets attached to the Liverpool care pathway (LCP). Some National Health Service commissioners have introduced local incentives related to use of the LCP under the department's commissioning for quality and innovation (CQUIN) payment framework, but information on local schemes is not collected centrally.
	A general analysis is being undertaken of local CQUIN incentives and goals, which includes end of life care goals, but not specifically the LCP. This analysis is expected to be published by the end of the year.

Olympic Games 2012: Maker Programme

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what processes have been established for an evaluation of the Olympic Games Maker Programme and when the results are expected.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: A survey of Games maker volunteers, which explores their experiences and motivations, is being carried out by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and will be reported on as part of the final report of the London 2012 Meta-Evaluation, which will be published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in Summer 2013.

Overseas Aid

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional support they intend to provide for new applicants to the Department for International Development's Global Poverty Action Fund (Community Partnership Window).

Baroness Northover: The additional support that will be provided to organisations interested applying for funding through the Community Partnership Window of the Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) includes:
	workshops at concept note and proposal stage of the application process; an interview process for borderline applications with strong potential, aimed specifically at organisations that may struggle to express their ideas fully in writing;individual support at the start of the grant, and targeted support during the life of the grant, to enable grantees to perform more effectively; andspecific feedback at each stage of the application process.
	These additional measures aim to help applicants with potential better to express their ideas and to ensure that organisations that are supported through the GPAF are better able to deliver results.

Pakistan

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government which media organisations and public relations companies are engaged in promoting the Department for International Development education awareness programme in Pakistan.

Baroness Northover: DfID Pakistan has engaged the not-for-profit Mir Khalil ur Rahman Foundation (MKRF) and HTSPE to raise education awareness in Pakistan. MKRF subcontracts other media companies as appropriate.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are under any treaty-based obligation to realise the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.

Baroness Warsi: The Palestinian people's right of self-determination is clearly established under international law. As a matter of policy, the UK fully supports the realisation of this right. We want to see a negotiated two-state solution resulting in a secure and universally recognised Israel living alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, based on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem the future capital of both states, and a fair settlement for refugees.
	The UK has no treaty obligation to itself realise the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

Post-2015 Development Agenda

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to ensure that contributions from women from conflict-affected and fragile states are included in United Nations consultations carried out by the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Baroness Northover: The Government are working closely with the United Nations on the national country consultations, both in New York and in the countries where the consultations will take place.
	The Prime Minister is co-chairing the high-level panel alongside President Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, who is a strong advocate for women's voices in post-conflict countries. DfID is also supporting two initiatives that will enable citizens from developing countries to contribute towards the high-level panel process. Both will reach out to women in conflict affected and fragile states.

Prisons: HM Prison Oakwood

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the staff to prisoner ratio at HM Prison Oakwood.

Lord McNally: Staff-to-prisoner ratios in prisons vary, depending upon the occupancy of the prison and the number of staff. At HMP Oakwood, the current ratio is approximately one member of staff to every 2.3 prisoners.

Prisons: HM Prison Oakwood

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many reception staff are routinely on duty each day after 6.00 pm at HM Prison Oakwood.

Lord McNally: All prisons must ensure that the reception facility operates efficiently and effectively for all prisoners entering the establishment. At HMP Oakwood there are routinely two reception staff on duty after 6 pm.

Prisons: HM Prison Oakwood

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether prisoners at HM Prison Oakwood receive education and training in bricklaying, plumbing, electrical skills and carpentry.

Lord McNally: At HMP Oakwood, vocational training is made available through Milton Keynes College as part of its contract with the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service. Training is available for a wide range of occupational skills, including bricklaying, plumbing, electrical skills and carpentry.

Prisons: HM Prison Oakwood

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the basic, standard and enhanced wages for prisoners at HM Prison Oakwood.

Lord McNally: The incentives and earned privileges scheme at HMP Oakwood includes a range of weekly pay rates, which take account of the age and state of health of the prisoner, whether or not he is in education or training and, if employed in industry, the nature of that work. Prisoners receiving education and undertaking programmes receive, weekly, a basic wage of £7, a standard wage of £8 and an enhanced wage of £9. Pay for prisoners working in industries now ranges from £9 to £20 weekly, depending upon the nature of the role.

Prisons: HM Prison Oakwood

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how applications and complaints are dealt with at HM Prison Oakwood.

Lord McNally: All prisons, including HMP Oakwood, are required to have systems in place for handling applications and complaints.
	The application system is set out in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 75/2011. The application system is an intermediate process between a prisoner simply speaking to an officer and invoking the formal complaint procedure. Applications are normally dealt with by staff on the wing, and both oral and written applications are accepted.
	The complaint system is set out in PSI 02/2012. If a matter cannot be resolved by the prisoner speaking with a member of staff, he or she may submit a written complaint. Complaints must be fully investigated and the responses must address the issues raised in a clear and understandable way.

Public Bodies Act 2011

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 1 November (WA 154), in respect of which of the bodies listed in Schedule 1 to the Public Bodies Act 2011 consultations have started but not yet concluded; and on what date the consultation was started for each of those bodies.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: At present there are no consultations in respect of bodies listed in Schedule 1 to the Public Bodies Act 2011 that have started but not yet concluded.

Railways: BRB (Residuary) Ltd

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request the owners of British Rail property land, following the abolition of BRB (Residuary) in April 2013, to purchase the former track bed of the line between Tunbridge Wells Central and West stations in order to safeguard a corridor for any future expansion of the rail network between Kent and Sussex.

Earl Attlee: BRB (Residuary) does not own the former track bed of the line in question.
	The National Planning Policy Framework states that:
	"Local planning authorities should identify and protect, where there is robust evidence, sites and routes which could be critical in developing infrastructure to widen transport choice".

Railways: Intercity Express Trains

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what account they took of the 2009 report by Passenger Focus, Designing for the future, in drawing up the latest document specifying the proposed internal layout for the Intercity Express Passenger Train; and what extra provision has been made for luggage space in that design compared to existing types of Intercity trains.

Earl Attlee: Both Passenger Focus's analysis of luggage provision in existing long-distance rolling stock, and Passenger Focus itself, informed the proposed internal layout for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) train. The department continues to work with Passenger Focus on the developing design of the new trains. As a result, IEP trains will offer best in class saloon luggage provision, with an additional area available for bulk excess luggage.

Railways: Intercity Express Trains

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will adopt measures to remove seats in order to increase leg room, visibility and luggage provision for passengers in procuring the next generation of Intercity Express passenger trains, in line with similar developments in the coach industry.

Earl Attlee: The proposed internal layouts of Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains offers improved passenger comfort through increased carry-on luggage space, but with no compromise on leg-room. The Department for Transport continues to work with Passenger Focus on the developing design of the new trains.

Railways: Tickets

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether guidance has been issued to rail operating companies about provision of discounted off-peak single tickets in both standard and first class categories.

Earl Attlee: This is a matter for the train operating companies. Each train operator sets and publishes the conditions and prices of its fares in line with the processes in the ticketing and settlement agreement (which can be found at http://www.atoc.org/about-atoc/rail-settlement-plan/governance), and the conditions in their franchise agreements, where applicable.

Railways: Tickets

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 8 November (WA 235), whether, under the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, a passenger making the return half of their journey in a different class or time period must pay any excess fare for that journey only or for the previous outward journey as well.

Earl Attlee: The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) issues retail information for train operating company staff, taking account of any relevant provisions such as the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.
	In relation to excess fares, the relevant retail information indicates that a passenger with a return ticket should be asked to pay the difference between the price already paid and the price of the cheapest return ticket, available for immediate travel, that allows the customer to travel on the chosen service. For change of travel in the return direction only, the retail information indicates that it may be appropriate to sell the passenger a new valid single fare, if this is cheaper.
	The exact nature of the excess fare will depend on a number of factors, including the type of ticket the passenger held (off-peak, super off-peak or advance) and whether there was an opportunity to buy an appropriate excess fare before boarding the train.

Religious Freedom

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2009 toolkit on freedom of religion or belief in promoting those human rights overseas; and whether they intend to update the toolkit to take account of the Arab spring.

Baroness Warsi: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) toolkit on freedom of religion or belief provides an essential guide to all of our embassies and high commissions. It aims to help staff understand the human rights issues involved in freedom of religion or belief and gives them a range of tools to promote this human right and to combat violations of it.
	The toolkit has been used by FCO staff overseas to raise our concerns with their host governments about individual cases as well as to lobby for changes in discriminatory practices and laws. The toolkit, which was the subject of extensive consultation with the UK non-governmental organisation (NGO) community in its development, has been widely welcomed by NGOs and EU member states. The EU's External Action Service has also been using it as a resource in the development of EU guidelines on freedom of religion or belief. We drew upon it in the development of the FCO's own strategy on freedom of religion or belief.
	The toolkit is kept under review but is designed to set out our response to cross-cutting issues and frequently asked questions rather than focusing on specific countries, regions or religions. The FCO's 2011 annual human rights report did, however, include a focus on the opportunities and challenges brought about by the Arab spring including in the context of religious freedom and rights of minorities. We will continue to be alert to the impact of the Arab spring on followers of all faiths and none.

Religious Freedom

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the development of a religious freedom toolkit by the European Union External Action Service.

Baroness Warsi: The EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy committed the External Action Service to developing public guidelines on freedom of religion or belief by the end of the year. The UK has played a leading role in shaping these guidelines in the EU Human Rights Working Group, for instance by providing our own religious freedom toolkit as an example. We have also sought and provided input from civil society including faith-based actors. The draft guidelines are currently with the office of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and will be subject to further scrutiny by member states and civil society organisations.

Religious Freedom

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the pilot projects on freedoms of religion or belief identified in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2012 Human Rights Report have been undertaken; and, if so, what were the results of those pilot projects.

Baroness Warsi: Freedom of religion or belief is a priority area for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund and we supported several projects in this area during the financial year 2011-12. These included a grassroots religious reconciliation initiative in Iraq involving a series of small scale meetings to encourage dialogue between local religious leaders from across the sectarian divides. This project built on the progress achieved by the High Council of Religious Leaders in Iraq during the course of an FCO-funded project in 2010-11. In order to protect the safety and security of organisations delivering sensitive projects overseas, we do not routinely name projects or organisations that have received funding.
	We remain keen to attract more good quality bids from potential project implementers. We are currently assessing the results of our projects to date and plan to circulate examples of best practice to our embassies and high commissions with a view to stimulating more bids in future years.

Roads: Bus Lanes

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 9 November (WA 240), whether they will bring forward regulations to make it mandatory that advance warning should be given of cameras in bus lanes.

Earl Attlee: The Government have no plans to bring forward regulations to make it mandatory that advance warning should be given of cameras in bus lanes.

Shipping: Passenger Ships

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what United Kingdom and European legislation specifies a maximum age for ships in passenger service with or without an operating subsidy.

Earl Attlee: There is no United Kingdom and European legislation that specifies a maximum age for a ship on the UK register.

South Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to assist aid agencies to pre-position food supplies for refugees entering South Sudan from South Kordofan in order to meet their needs and discourage mass migration.

Baroness Northover: The UK allocated £10 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2012 for the pre-positioning of food in South Sudan to assist various caseloads of people in South Sudan, including the refugees crossing from South Kordofan. Prepositioning food during the dry season is crucial to support the humanitarian response in areas where access is difficult as a result of flooding and poor infrastructure during the rainy season.
	The UK remains extremely concerned about the situation in Southern Kordofan. We are continuing to press the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to implement the agreement on humanitarian access that they have signed with the United Nations, African Union and Arab League. When access does become available, the UK will provide funding-including through non-governmental channels. We will not cease in our efforts until humanitarian access is secured. Our £1.8 million support to national partners via the Common Humanitarian Fund and our previous £4.8 million funding of WFP continue to provide humanitarian assistance to war-affected people in government-held areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of international efforts to reach people facing starvation and food shortages in South Kordofan; and what proposals, if any, they have to deliver food through non-governmental channels.

Baroness Northover: The UK is deeply concerned at the significant humanitarian need in Southern Kordofan. We continue to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unconstrained humanitarian access. When access does become available, the UK will provide funding-including through non-governmental channels. We currently assess the United Nations/African Union/League of Arab States "Tripartite" Arrangement to be the most effective way to provide an independent assessment of needs and to deliver the required relief. The UK continues to make it clear to both the Government of Sudan and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North that they must immediately implement the tripartite proposal that they signed in August to allow full humanitarian access-further delays are unacceptable. We will not cease in our efforts until humanitarian access is secured.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Sudan to encourage that country's co-operation with the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in investigating attacks on civilians in Darfur; what is their assessment of reports that Sudanese security forces prevented UNAMID from investigating an attack on civilians in Sigili near El Fasher in Darfur on 2 November; and whether they will take any further action in the light of those reports.

Baroness Warsi: We are deeply concerned about the reports of attacks on civilians in Darfur by Sudanese Security Forces. These claims must be fully and properly investigated. We continue to make it clear to the Government of Sudan that they must provide the UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) with full, unrestricted access across Darfur, and the freedom to investigate any allegations of attacks on civilians as set out in their mandate. We raised this issue through UN Security Council discussions on Darfur last month, and in a letter to the Government of Sudan earlier this month and will continue to make representations.

Sudan

Baroness Rendell of Babergh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase public awareness of, and encourage a resolution to, the ongoing conflict in Darfur.

Baroness Warsi: We are deeply concerned by continuing conflict and insecurity in Darfur, and the resulting humanitarian situation. Resolution of the conflict in Darfur remains a top priority in our policy on Sudan and a central part of our public and private communications with the Government of Sudan and other partners.
	We continue to view the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as the basis for reaching a durable, just, comprehensive and inclusive solution to the ongoing conflict. The UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan was in Doha on 12 November for the Implementation Follow-up Commission to discuss Darfur with a number of key international partners, and to press all parties for full implementation of the DDPD. We are also supporting preparations for the Qatari hosted Donor Conference for Darfur planned for early next year. We remain committed to seeing a long-term resolution of the conflict.

Turkey

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they or the European Union have sent observers to the trial of Kurdish lawyers in Istanbul on 6 November.

Baroness Warsi: Representatives of the British Government and the EU delegation in Turkey did not field delegates at the hearing of Kurdish lawyers in Istanbul on 6 November. The EU delegation in Ankara co-ordinates attendance and monitoring by officials of member states at the highest profile cases. UK representatives take part in this process.
	Along with our EU partners, we urge Turkey to make further progress on issues such as freedom of expression and access to fair trials. We welcome the recent announcement by Prime Minister Erdogan that the Turkish Government are planning to submit a bill to parliament allowing the use of Kurdish in Turkish courts.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the recognition by the Swedish Parliament that the mass killing of Syriacs in Turkey during 1915 was an act of genocide.

Baroness Warsi: The British Government do not recognise the events of 1915 as genocide. While we remember the victims of the past, our priority today should be to promote reconciliation between the countries and peoples affected.

Turkey

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the current religious freedoms of Syriac Christians in Turkey.

Baroness Warsi: The British Government have not made a specific assessment of the level of religious freedom enjoyed by the Syriac population in Turkey.
	The European Commission's recent annual progress report on Turkey's accession to the EU highlighted that the Syriac community continued to face difficulties, particularly with property and land registration.
	Along with the EU Commission and others, we strongly encourage Turkey to maintain efforts to strengthen freedoms for all religious minorities in Turkey including the Syriac Christians.

Turkey

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made in the past 12 months to the Government of Turkey about the prosecution of journalists; whether they have raised with the Government of Turkey the case of the trial of Fazil Say; and if so, with whom and with what response.

Baroness Warsi: The British Government regularly raise human rights issues with the Government of Turkey. During his visit to Turkey on October 2-4, the Deputy Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr Clegg), raised concerns over freedom of expression with the Prime Minister of Turkey. The Minister for Europe, my right honourable friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), also raised the issue with Egemen Bagis, the Turkish European Affairs Minister at a meeting on 14 October.
	The Government have not raised the individual case of Fazil Say. However, we are aware of his trial and are monitoring his case closely.
	Along with our EU partners, we urge Turkey to make further progress on issues such as freedom of expression, access to fair trials and meeting its international commitments on human rights.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will defer the introduction of value added tax in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Baroness Warsi: The introduction of value added tax (VAT) is a decision for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. The VAT Bill was signed into law on 18 July 2012 and will come into force on 1 April 2013.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new government in the Turks and Caicos Islands will be permitted freedom over setting tax policy in order to balance its budget.

Baroness Warsi: Under the 2011 constitution, the new Government in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are required to formulate and conduct macro-economic and fiscal policy for the sustained long-term prosperity of the people of the islands, and must manage public funds according to established principles of value for money, affordability and regularity and in the interests of long term financial stability. They must also aim towards achieving and maintaining a surplus budget.
	A framework document has been agreed by the UK Ministers that sets out the key principles of good financial management and the debt targets agreed. Key requirements are that net debt is no higher than 110% of revenue by end of 2015-16 and 80% of revenue by 2018-19. In addition, it is important that TCI demonstrates its ability to run a credible and sustainable fiscal policy, including by reducing its debt levels so that it can refinance itself independently by the time the British Government debt guarantee expires. UK agreement to the budget and fiscal plans will be contingent on the TCI Government being able to demonstrate that they meet these key objectives.

Universal Credit

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what penalties employers will incur if they fail to inform HM Revenue and Customs of each employee's salary and tax each month, as required by universal credit.

Lord Sassoon: Under the PAYE real time information system, employers may incur a late filing penalty if they do not tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) each employee's pay and tax details on or before the day the wages or salary are paid. These penalties are still being developed by HMRC and will be included in Finance Bill 2013 for commencement from 6 April 2014.

Universal Credit

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional staff have been employed by HM Revenue and Customs to process details of universal credit each month, and at what cost.

Lord Sassoon: HM Revenue and Customs has employed no additional staff to process universal credit details. Universal credit has not yet commenced.

Universal Credit

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what method HM Revenue and Customs will provide information to the benefits agency on each claimant's salary and tax for the purpose of calculating universal credit.

Lord Sassoon: HM Revenue and Customs is currently implementing a modernisation of PAYE called real time information (RTI). Under RTI, employers will send information about employees' pay and deductions each time they pay their employees.
	RTI for individuals who are also universal credit claimants will be shared with the Department for Work and Pensions via an electronic channel on a daily basis.

Warm Front Scheme

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households benefited from the Warm Front scheme in 2011-12 and how many are expected to benefit in 2012-2013.

Baroness Verma: The Warm Front scheme assisted 33,058 households in 2011-12. It is expected that Warm Front will assist 65,000-80,000 households over the final two years of the scheme to March 2013.

Women: Aspire Fund

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the Aspire Fund.

Lord Marland: The Aspire Fund was established in 2008 to promote businesses led by women by making co-investments alongside private investors. To date the fund has invested more than £3 million in six companies in the medical, communications and software sectors. Capital for Enterprise Ltd is currently recruiting additional staff to manage new investments in women-led businesses.

Women: Women on Boards

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the European Commission proposals to introduce quotas for women on boards.

Lord Marland: My Lords, the UK welcomes the Commission's decision not to impose mandatory quotas for women on boards. We remain fully committed to increasing women's representation in UK boardrooms, but along with like-minded member states, we have consistently argued that measures are best considered at national level. We believe that the UK's business-led, self-regulatory model, as set out in the Davies review, is the best approach for the UK. We will now consider the Commission's proposal carefully and work with other member states to ensure that the final directive supports our efforts to ensure we have diverse, effective boards.